The Four Color Media Monitor

Fierce Pharma reports a company named Insulet is teaming with Marvel to develop a comic about a superhero with diabetes:

With great power comes great responsibility, and Insulet, accordingly, is using its influence in the diabetes management space to improve the representation of people living with diabetes.

The insulin pump maker announced Wednesday that it has collaborated with comic book publishing giant Marvel to develop a comic about a superhero who has Type 1 diabetes.

In “Dyasonic: Sound of Strength,” protagonist Omnya struggles to manage her diabetes until she begins using Insulet’s Omnipod 5 insulin pump. The confidence boost she gets from using the technology helps her embrace her other strengths, including the science skills she uses to create a pair of gloves that can channel sonic frequencies—thus turning her into the superhero now known as Dyasonic.

The comic was written by Paul Allor, who has previously penned additions to the “Avengers,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Power Rangers” comic book collections, among many others. Allor used their own experience living with diabetes to inform Omnya/Dyasonic’s story.

The main goal of the comic, per Insulet, is to break down stigmas and biases and help people with diabetes feel seen and understood.

Well unfortunately, I think they chose the wrong company to do business with, and besides, the way they make it look like only superhero style characters get noticed has long become laughable. It's entirely possible to market a comic like this, science-fiction or otherwise, without building on the superhero theme that's become way overused. Does Insulet honestly believe Marvel today still has the recognition or respect needed to convince anybody it's worth it to read a Marvel-produced comic after how woke they became, and have no true respect for the legacies of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby? Also, the following is weird, IMO:

In the announcement, the company cited survey data showing that while the vast majority of people with Type 1 diabetes think it’s important to see people with diabetes accurately portrayed in culture, barely half could remember seeing any such representation in the previous year. About a third of those surveyed said they were likely to hide their diabetes from others, citing shame, fear of judgment and a desire to avoid explaining the condition.

Why should being diabetic be a source of shame? Plenty of people have illnesses of some sort, and it's nothing new. If one believes such a medical issue is worth writing about in fiction stories, it's certainly worth it, but again, it's difficult to comprehend why it has to be in Marvel superhero format, when it's entirely possible to write a sci-fi tale focused on medical topics without resorting to what's now a misused cliche. When will they ever consider?

Also, since we're on the subject, notice how, when talking about writer Allor, they say "their" instead of "his"? Well, as the following posts on X indicate, that's no accident, and they also reveal his leftist politics in motion:

Nightmare blunt rotation. https://t.co/Va7A2ksQtH

— Paul Allor Loves You 🏳️‍🌈 (@PaulAllor) May 18, 2025

Absolute god damn nut jobs. https://t.co/qYrKMIXXqA

— Paul Allor Loves You 🏳️‍🌈 (@PaulAllor) May 18, 2025

So I guess here, he's implying he believes Trump's wrong to enforce law and order when there's savages rioting and looting in Los Angeles, and even burning vehicles? And as Allor indicates, he's a LGBT practitioner, who now wants to identify as "non-binary". Sad. Also notice how, unsurprisingly, he even attacks at least a few conservative-leaning figures, in a very petty post. Here's a few more:

"Leftist McCarthyism." 😆 https://t.co/ElFxPmXUTQ

— Paul Allor Loves You 🏳️‍🌈 (@PaulAllor) June 2, 2025

I guess that means he doesn't like Roy Thomas' early 70s Avengers story, the Kree-Skrull War, which also featured allusions to McCarthyism, huh?

https://t.co/JSqTTGZ86i pic.twitter.com/u5pP9fTE8i

— Paul Allor Loves You 🏳️‍🌈 (@PaulAllor) June 10, 2025

Fired for looking out the window and telling the public it's raining. https://t.co/hYILy0pRKH

— Paul Allor Loves You 🏳️‍🌈 (@PaulAllor) June 12, 2025

Ahem. What Moran did was crude and went against objective standards in journalism. That vulgarity is being potentially normalized in society is very sad, and one of the poorest modern examples. And then, here's what Allor says about Alex Padilla interrupting Kristi Noem's press conference:

Write a very strong letter with eight very strong questions!

Shit, man, maybe even make it NINE! https://t.co/eOx2B7dq6I

— Paul Allor Loves You 🏳️‍🌈 (@PaulAllor) June 12, 2025

So it's okay for somebody to disrupt somebody else's press conference, and even act violent and obnoxious? It goes without saying history is replete with leftists interrupting press conferences and college forums, and this is just simply unacceptable. The actor Jon Cryer, who appeared on the CW network's Supergirl series (which degenerated into leftist political propaganda pretty quickly back in the day), also obscured the seriousness of Padilla's behavior, and called the USA an "authoritarian" state. Such a petty person indeed.

All that aside, is Allor suited to script a story about diabetes if that's how he's going to conduct his business? Hardly. But still no surprise Marvel and other such publishers are willing to employ leftists like him.

Labels: Avengers, bad editors, dc comics, dreadful writers, marvel comics, moonbat writers, msm propaganda, politics, science, Supergirl

Wasau Daily Herald wrote about a new SYFY adaptation of writer Tim Seeley's Revival:

Central Wisconsin residents will soon see some familiar sights on television as a cable network show set in Wausau debuts June 12.

The SYFY channel will debut the supernatural thriller, “Revival,” at 9 p.m. June 12 based the 2012 Image comic book series of the same name by Wausau-area native Tim Seeley, a comic book artist and writer. The television adaptation of the 47-issue Harvey Award-nominated comic series was created by Aaron B. Koontz and Luke Boyce, according to the SYFY channel website for the series.

Okay, good luck with that, though I think it's a shame we have yet another darkness-laden production to contend with. But, further along in the article, there comes quite a baffling goof in reference to Seeley's resume:

Comic creator Seeley was born in Ringle and graduated from D.C. Everest High School in 1995 and currently lives in Chicago, according to the Wausau Daily Herald. Seeley's work has also been featured in DC Comics, including "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" and has had other successful original work including popular horror comic series "HACK/SLASH."

Wow, this is a most hilarious confusing of where and how Hasbro's famous toy soldier franchise has been in publication, because I don't recall DC ever having the license to publish GI Joe comics. Marvel was the first, Dark Horse may have done so briefly, then there was Devil's Due, IDW, and lately Image/Skybound, but the only connection DC may have to stories titled GI Joe was 2 or 3 Showcase (1956-70) anthology issues from the Silver Age focused on WW2. So this only amounts to a Gannett-owned paper demonstrating how poor their accuracy is, along with their history coverage. And now, in case it's not entirely clear what Revival could be about:

The series is a spin on a zombie thriller in which people near a small rural town in central Wisconsin were “revived” if they had died within the two weeks prior to the “revival” event. Instead of the typical shambling and aggressive zombies, the “revivers” act almost the same as they had before they died.

The series follows sheriff’s deputy Dana Cypress, played by actress Melanie Scrofano, as she manages the city contained within a government-imposed quarantine zone.

I have no idea so far if this implies it's not a mayhem-flooded story, but chances are still possible it's not an optimistic tale with any kind of bright comedy and romance. And if not, stuff like this explains why I haven't watched TV dramas in years, because at this point, there's too much of this weird horror-thriller stuff crowding the airwaves now. Again, we could do without it.

Labels: indie publishers, licensed products, msm propaganda, violence

A writer at Moviefone says she doesn't think the Marvel cinematic universe should adapt Christopher Priest and Joe Quesada's new Black Panther storyline under the revived Knights imprint, where T'Challa is all but replaced by a white cast member:

When Chadwick Boseman passed away, he left a hole in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that, let's be honest, likely no one will be able to fill. He perfectly embodied T'Challa in 'Black Panther'. He knew how to light up a room with his smile and laugh.

There has been a lot of debate about whether the role should ever be recast or if there should be a new Black Panther altogether. For now, Shuri (Letitia Wright) has taken up the mantle, as fans saw in 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'. She fit seamlessly into the story, and it makes all the sense in the world for her to continue representing Wakanda.

While many have been calling for a new Black Panther to step into the MCU, the recent Marvel Comics' storyline is not the way to do it. Here's why.

[...] The first reason Marvel should choose not to adapt this storyline is probably the most obvious one. We already have a Black Panther in Shuri. Letitia Wright is confirmed to reprise her role as Shuri in 'Avengers: Doomsday' so it makes no sense for Marvel to replace her and bring in a new Black Panther. At least not yet. She has a lot more to give us.

We also already have another Black Panther lined up to take her place, when the time comes. In the post-credit scene for 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' it is revealed that T'Challa had a son with Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o). He is named Toussaint and he is being raised outside of Wakanda.

For Marvel to set a storyline up in a post-credit scene and then completely abandon it is not unheard of, but it would be particularly frustrating this time around. They cannot get away with never talking about him again, and if they do decide to retcon his part of the story, fans will likely be outraged. Rightfully so.

Realistically the studio can do whatever they want and claim that it works within the story because of how they have set themselves up. With the multiverse blown wide open, there is no reason they can't have a new Black Panther step through a portal from another universe and try to take up the mantle.

That said, to do so would be extremely lazy writing. Even with the multiverse established, Marvel needs to stop relying on it to explain away situations. Viewers are getting sick of it, and for good reason. Surely this is how The Fantastic Four is going to enter the MCU. 'Avengers: Doomsday' is probably going to use that explination a lot, and honestly, that should be the last time Marvel leans on the multiverse for help.

Considering the 2nd BP movie did far less well than the 1st, it should be apparent that even these "replacements" aren't impressing upon the audiences, given how politically correct the sequel became. So what's the columnist trying to prove? Besides, if the upcoming Avengers movie yet to open isn't crafted well, then Shuri's role becomes moot.

Now since the subject of Quesada comes up, Knoxville's 6News reports that a local specialty store sadly invited him to a convention they're holding:

Fans lined the sidewalk at a Knoxville comic bookstore over the weekend to meet former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada and celebrate the latest release from the entertainment giants.

Nirvana Comics in Bearden hosted the special signing event in celebration of the launch of Marvel Knights: The World To Come, a six-issue comic books series co-created by Quesada. [...]

“When Nirvana Comics called, I had heard about them. I had heard what a great store this was, from other creators as well,” Quesada said. “So I thought you know what? I think it would be so much more fun to do my first signing in a store as opposed to a big convention and just hang out with real hardcore fans that come into the shop all the time.”

It's a shame somebody representing the industry is willing to make him a special guest even at a local convention, and completely excuse and absolve him for all the harm he did to Marvel when he became their EIC, including - but not limited to - destroying the Spider-marriage. Aside from all that, Quesada's also a very mediocre artist, so what they see in him I'll never know, apart from how he may be one of the biggest representatives of PC storytelling, and that could have what to do with their choice of invitations. I have no interest in getting an autograph from somebody like Quesada, who did zero in the long run to salvage its collapsing fortunes, and when Bill Jemas left Marvel, the company wide crossovers began again non-stop, becoming one of the worst staples of the industry over the past 2 decades and ruining all organic storytelling in the process. All Quesada accomplished was explaining why Marvel should've gone out of business in the early 2000s, which would've prevented much of the woke humiliations from coming about. Instead, we now have a publisher in tatters, all because Quesada wanted to limit everything to his narrow view of how to run a comics company. This is why, as I'd once noted before, I don't want to buy anything his new publishing outfit is producing.

Labels: bad editors, Black Panther, conventions, golden calf of death, marvel comics, misogyny and racism, moonbat artists, moonbat writers, msm propaganda, politics, sales

Roy Thomas' creation of Iron Fist is surely one of the most abused by PC cast members in the Marvel universe by modern writers who can only think of the cheapest ways of scriptwriting around Danny Rand. As the following, predictably sugarcoated Popverse report makes clear,

Like all good comic book characters, Marvel's original Iron Fist Danny Rand died. But, like all good comic book characters, it wasn't a permanent thing and he's okay now - in fact, he's set to become The Undead Iron Fist in a new mini-series from creators Jason Loo and Fran Galán this fall.

Readers who remember Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Travel Foreman, and David Aja's absolute banger of a series from the 2000s, The Immortal Iron Fist, already know that there's this ancient text called The Book of the Iron Fist in the Marvel Universe. It stipulates that all Iron Fists will die by age 33. So, when Danny died on his 33rd birthday in 2024's Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special #1, it wasn't the biggest surprise, as tragic as it may have been to fans.

The tragedy of PC writing that overtook Marvel during the 2000s, at the time Joe Quesada was EIC, is what's insufferable here. After all the damage he caused, if what they're emphasizing now is zombie effects, it's no improvement over what came during that decade in stories centered around Danny Rand, and that a leftist like Fraction was involved on those past tales is telling.

Speaking of resurrections, Danny Rand is back this September as the Undead Iron Fist to find out why these martial artists die by age 33, and, according to Marvel, "expose K'un-Lun's darkest secret and enlighten him and readers alike to the Iron Fist's greatest legends." Personally, if I were Danny, I would want to find out the truth just to spare his successor Lin Lie from a premature death. Bruce Lee died at age 32, we can't also lose Lin Lie so soon. There's so much more I want to learn about his family of archaeologists!

Talking about the decision to kill Danny only to bring him back, writer Jason Loo said, "I was so relieved to not encounter any fan backlash or outrage when I killed off Danny Rand. Because there was always a plan to bring him back, but we wanted to make the fans wait." I don't recall my reaction when I saw Danny's death in the Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special #1, but I probably took a sip of tea and said, "about time." Anyways, happy trails to Danny.

If there's been no backlash, it can actually be because much of the onetime readership left years ago, after the aforementioned Quesada led to so much damage not just to Spider-Man, but the rest of the MCU to boot. They may have been willing to revive Danny Rand, but if it's as a zombie, as the book title suggests, that's tasteless. And is the writer, yet another modern "scribe" I've never heard of, implying he intends to force some tale establishing Kun Lun as more a bad bunch than good for PC reasons? We could do without that. Also, if Loo is saying he was okay with Iron Fist being sent to the great reward as though he were something bad, that too is appalling.

Labels: bad editors, dreadful writers, golden calf of death, history, marvel comics, msm propaganda

ComicBook asks why alternate dimensions are so popular, but near the beginning, they really go to the absurd with the following:

Both Marvel and DC Comics have an extensive history with multiverses. One of DC’s most famous events, Crisis on Infinite Earths, was made possible thanks to the multiverse. Likewise, Marvel has been playing around with this concept for decades. No matter where fans look, they’re bound to find at least a hint of the multiverses and alternate universes tucked into these comic book franchises.

Gee, if they believe alternate universes or parallel dimensions are a fun, creative idea, why are they obscuring and confusing how COIE served to jettison much of these alternate worlds, supposedly to merge much of their casts of characters into one, single world? After COIE, not much was left of the alternate worlds, if at all, when it comes to superheroes from the Justice Society and Justice League living on different planes of existence, or even worlds where non-superhero guests could live. If we take Skartaris, the world in which the 1975-88 Warlord series took place, as an example, that was still around, and the funny thing is that, if it originally began as an allusion to Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, it may have been retconned into more of a parallel dimension, in contrast to Earth-1 and Earth-2 for the superheroes proper. But again, many of the alternate worlds, certainly those in which the different versions of superheroes lived, were abandoned and basically combined into one, while some characters received retconned backgrounds. And by the 1990s, they hardly dealt with parallel worlds, if at all. So creativity was watered down to some degree, and then, if the "multiverse" was brought back, it was unfortunately via the terrible Dan DiDio in the mid-2000s in poorly developed "nostalgia", and today, whatever he oversaw in writing certainly isn't remembered like the original multiverses are.

In the long run, if DC ever sought to bring back parallel dimensions to their continuity, they failed miserably due to all the PC they went by, and resulted in an unappealing product, and certainly a lack of interest by the audience. Also note how ComicBook's writer doesn't seem disappointed COIE was used as an excuse to erase parallel dimensions. If he's not dismayed, what's his point?

Labels: bad editors, dc comics, history, marvel comics, msm propaganda

In this Superhero Hype article on Yahoo, they talk about where Marvel's been going with the Fantastic Four's leading adversary in the One World Under Doom event, now making him look like a hero, based on how he's depicted leading at least a few teams in battle:

As filming for Avengers: Doomsday continues, a new preview of the comic book event One World Under Doom has revealed Doctor Doom leading the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four, marking a major shift in Marvel’s current comics. As Doom battles Dormammu, the event sets the stage for unexpected alliances and power moves that could reshape the Marvel Universe.

Ahead of Doomsday, Doctor Doom is leading the Avengers in Marvel comics

Doctor Doom commands Earth’s greatest heroes in Marvel’s One World Under Doom, as shown in ComicBook’s exclusive preview of issue #5.

The event series depicts Doom as the declared ruler of the world, recognized by all global leaders. Though the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men initially oppose him, Doom eventually frees them from Dormammu’s trap. He then becomes Earth’s only defense against the invasion from the Dark Dimension.

And we're supposed to admire that Doom's somehow a good guy here? Sorry, but this is yet another insult to the intellect, and a story that muddles Doom's background as a villain for the sake of a story where we're apparently supposed to overlook how he's no different from Dormammu as somebody with world conquest designs on the mind.

It's just another sad excuse for portraying a villain who was depicted killing people before as somebody who all of a sudden becomes a hero, as if nothing ever happened. While here, the actual heroes, if anybody, are turned into second fiddles to his "leadership". Anybody who actually spends their money on this intellect-insulter has only made the "joke" so much worse.

Labels: bad editors, crossoverloading, dreadful writers, Fantastic Four, golden calf of villainy, marvel comics, msm propaganda

Polygon talks about Marvel Tokon, a new game project by Arc System Works (producers of the Guilty Gear series, IIRC), who're doing something like a followup to Capcom's earlier fighting games starring or co-starring Marvel casts:

Whether you’re mourning Capcom’s absence or thrilled that Arc System Works is taking the reins of a major franchise, the reveal of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls made waves across the gaming world. Its connection to Marvel vs. Capcom is unmistakable, not just because of the Marvel branding, but due to its fast-paced, multi-character tag team 2D fighting style that Capcom helped pioneer. While Capcom broke new ground by blending Marvel’s comic book flair with innovative storytelling, Arc System Works is set to do the same, this time by infusing heroes like Iron Man and Captain America with bold, anime-inspired re-imaginings. It’s a stylistic shift that signals the end of Capcom’s comic-inspired Marvel era and the beginning of Marvel’s bold new chapter in anime.

[...] This time, Arc System Works aims to do for Marvel what Marvel once did for Capcom, by immersing Marvel’s characters in Japanese culture, particularly anime and manga, which have largely overtaken Western comic books in terms of sales and popularity. Due to the MCU and titles like Marvel Rivals, Marvel characters’ brand recognition is on fire and has far outgrown the comic panels that made them famous. Anime is one of the few forces truly rivaling Marvel in global popularity, thanks to the success of several key franchises. Anime has become so popular that even corporations and Japan itself are turning to AI and cybersecurity to combat the millions lost to piracy. But the tangled web of anime and manga licensing is a whole other story.

Well unfortunately, it appears that, sadly but perhaps not surprisingly, the cast here includes a character who was introduced nearly a dozen years ago based on political motivations, which dampens the impact:

In Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, Kamala Khan has googly anime eyes, Captain America is spouting Shonen one-liners about freedom, and Iron Man has Gundam eyebrows for heaven’s sake! Even the trailer uses the Japanese dub (although SAG-AFTRA shenanigans may be the culprit). The material for this crossover was all there from the start, it just took a dev team steeped in Japanese culture to bring it forth. Arc System Works has long since overtaken Capcom in the tag-team 2D fighter subgenre, especially after the misfire that was Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, the franchise’s prolonged absence afterward, and MvC2’s eventual replacement at EVO by ArcSys’s own Dragon Ball FighterZ in 2020.

The way they keep putting a character whose general "popularity" has remained unproven into these video game projects is just plain laughable. The last time this was done, in an Avengers game, it tanked in sales. I have no idea so far if the Islamic background remains intact in whatever story elements appear in Tokon, but if it is there, such politically motivated elements will be precisely the reason why this is not worth playing, and doesn't make a good successor to Capcom's earlier productions. One can also reasonably ask why the Khan character has to be cast in this game, but not Carol Danvers, if she's not here, and even if she is, any retainment of the Capt. Marvel role is problematic. What's so "bold" about perpetuating a propaganda tactic? No, a fictional character isn't to blame for any bad political components applied to them and their narratives, but if said components are retained in the video game as much as the comics, then it's obvious this project didn't have all the creative freedom one might hope it could have, or, the designers could regrettably share the same politics as the Marvel staffers who foisted the Islamic propaganda upon the comics output.

Unshockingly, this article fails to make clear why anime/manga's overtaken USA comics in popularity, but may not much longer if they turn to Orwellian PC - because Marvel and DC sold out to wokeism long ago, particularly by the mid-2000s, and licensed merchandise is no substitute for comics storytelling. Recalling when Capcom produced Clash of Super-Heroes in 1998, they were only allowed to use War Machine rather than Iron Man for the Marvel side of the cast, it doesn't take too much to guess Marvel's marketing department's influence over casting choices in Tokon was prevalent here as well, so you can see why the Muslim Ms. Marvel wound up being added rather than say, Mr. Fantastic from the Four, who also has stretching powers. And Khan's not the only newer character to be cast in Tokon - even Robbie Reyes, possibly the 5th character to take the role of Ghost Rider, was cast in this instead of Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, or even the Silver Age western-based precursor, Carter Slade, who was co-created in 1967 by Roy Thomas, Dick Ayers and Gary Friedrich prior to Blaze's 1972 creation. Far as I'm concerned, nothing with the title GR past the turn of the century is worth putting to use in games like these any more than comics, based on how pedestrian the writing's long become.

And the material was "all there" from the start? Sorry, but some of that material reeks of more PC directions in the past 20 years, and what if this video game leaves out any connections between Spidey and Mary Jane Watson? I seem to recall one of the Capcom games featured MJ in the epilogue for Spidey, but won't be shocked if she has no place in this newer game, even though these mandated omissions are already beginning to reek of embarrassment. Besides, I long lost interest in licensed merchandise based on Marvel/DC, because of how they turned it out at the expense of their comics, and DC probably fared worse in terms of producing video fighting games based on their comics than Marvel did in past decades.

Labels: Avengers, Captain America, Ghost Rider, history, Iron Man, islam and jihad, licensed products, manga and anime, marvel comics, msm propaganda, politics, Spider-Man, technology, women of marvel, X-Men

The Tribune of India spoke about how religions like the Sikh faith are never explored in mainstream comics, if at all, in an interview with a local fan of Capt. America who loves cosplaying:

“Captain America doesn’t wear a beard and a turban, and he’s white.” Vishavjit Singh looked at the boy who uttered those words, and then he looked at himself — a skinny, bespectacled, turbaned, bearded Sikh in a Captain America suit.

“I wasn’t offended, because I knew that this kid was going to have this image of me — a Sikh Captain America, forever in his mind. This image has so much power to it that it opens up conversations about what it means to be an American,” Singh said.

Representation of non-Abrahamic religions and spiritual traditions, particularly in the mainstream comics universe, is minimal. Even when they are portrayed in comics, their presentation, as Singh and others in the field point out, is often inauthentic and sometimes negative.

Having read some Golden Age stories, I am aware that there were at least a few instances where characters who could be descendants of India were portrayed as crooks, although there were some where they could be portrayed positively. But I don't think religion was involved per se. It was actually in later years during the Bronze Age that religion was more likely to be explored, and even then, they're correct, religions that may not have been monotheistic were rarely given serious exploration, if at all. And maybe that's just what led to the sad state of affairs we have today in mainstream, where Islam is whitewashed for the sake of political propaganda marketing, and if a godless religion is given prominence, it's the the cult of LGBT, and even communism, for all we know. (Speaking of which, as those familiar with the Silver Age know, communism was depicted negatively then, but in recent years, there can be no doubt it's all taken a change for the worse.) Manga stories are far more likely to explore religions that aren't monotheistic, whether the Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto or Jain religions. While I may be a monotheist myself, I do think there could be advantages for comics writers to research and develop more characters who're adherents to the religions of the far east, but so long as PC reigns in today's USA market, you can be sure the mainstream is unlikely to ever write up a truly respectable focus on faiths like the Sikh, or even Hinduism.

Recently, however, comic book writers and academics who study the intersection of religion and comics observe a renaissance of sorts, which they say is happening because people close to these faith traditions are telling these stories with a reverence and sincerity that resonate with a wider audience.

A Sikh superhero with a message

Singh’s journey to make that connection began after the attacks of September 11, 2001, triggered anti-Sikh hate incidents. Having faced hate and exclusion throughout his life, he decided to spread the message of kindness and inclusion by capitalising on the appeal of comics and superheroes — an area where he found Sikh representation to be “virtually zero”.

He suited up as Captain Sikh America in Manhattan for the first time in summer 2013 — one year after a self-proclaimed White supremacist opened fire inside a gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six and injuring four others.

New York’s reaction to Captain Sikh America was joyous. “Strangers came up and hugged me. Police officers wanted photos with me. A couple wanted me to be part of their wedding ceremony. I felt I had a certain privilege I’d never had before,” Singh said.

Well great for him if he found fame in his take on cosplay. But what this article fails to elucidate is that some Sikh adherents were mistaken for Moslems after September 11, 2001, and that was the reason for the offensive and reprehensible attacks. It's strange, because as far as I know, the dastar (turban) worn by Sikh adherents doesn't look like that worn by Muslim men at all. Even the outfits worn by lady adherents to the Sikh faith don't look like those worn by Muslim women. What these terrible incidents make clear is how out of touch the education system is even today when it comes to foreign cultures, and one of the most angering results is how these wrongful attacks on Sikh at the time only made it harder to combat the far more serious dangers of Islamic jihadism.

The article does bring up graphic novelists who've explored non-monotheist themes outside the mainstream, and the following is told about African faiths, interestingly enough:

Brooklyn-born Haitian American comic book writer Greg Anderson Elysee said he didn’t learn about African and Caribbean religious traditions until he was a teenager. Elysee was raised Catholic, but he now considers himself agnostic.

For the last decade, he’s written comics about Is’nana, the son of Anansi the Spider, the god of wisdom, knowledge and mischief in the Akan religion of West Africa.

What drives his vision and his creativity, Elysee said, is the need to see more Black mythology, deities and spirituality showcased with the same level of respect as European fairy tales and Greek mythology.

“When I went looking for anything on African spirituality in the bookstore, I found it in the occult section as opposed to the religion or mythology section,” he said. Common depictions of African faith as voodoo and witchcraft are colonialist narratives aimed at demonising indigenous spiritual practices, he added.

“When I started going to ceremonies and rituals, I saw how much power there is in it. When we know who we are — whether you believe in the religion or not — it fills you with joy, a purpose and a sense of being.”

To be sure, some practices in Africa have been totally confused with voodoo regardless of whether that's all about chicken slaughter for the sake of placing curses upon anybody who could be least deserving. And if there's positive faiths and practices in Africa that could be explored, it's definitely the time to do it. But don't do under Marvel/DC, no matter what their staff's reception could be at this point. What matters is that there's no need to prop up their woke-infested machine anymore by exploring themes in what could end up being stories that won't amount to anything as a result of the lack of respect modern writers have for the established characters, along with the lack of respect for continuity, which has collapsed since the 2000s. To explore these non-Abrahamic faiths is best done in creator-owned projects today, and there, for all know, it could come off much better than in mainstream. Yes, religious diversity can matter, but that's provided it's all done plausibly. That's how it'll work best.

Labels: Africa, Captain America, Europe and Asia, history, islam and jihad, marvel comics, msm propaganda

The UK Guardian gave a report on an exhibition in Spain of the comics of Paco Roca, an artist who's detailed the history of fascism in the time of Franco:

Roca, whose comics have explored such varied themes as Francoist reprisals, the exiled Spanish republicans who helped liberate Paris from the Nazis, family histories and the depredations of Alzheimer’s, is the subject of a new show at the Instituto Cervantes called Memory: An Emotional Journey Through the Comics of Paco Roca.

Staged as part of a year-long programme of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Franco and Spain’s subsequent return to democracy, the exhibition looks at how the 56-year-old artist has recovered, preserved and shared memories and testimonies.

“The idea was to make it all look like an encyclopaedia or a set of Victorian maps because, as the end of the day, it’s an atlas – a collection of maps that chronicle the journey of creating a comic,” said Roca.

“There are three panels about memory: historical memory; memory and identity; and family memory. The maps try to show what’s involved in the creation of any artistic work, whether it’s a comic or a film or a novel.”

Given the subject matter and Roca’s own approach to trekking after the past, the peripatetic, cartographical and non-linear nature of the exhibition seemed only fitting. Its four murals, 19 annotated strips and dozens of sketches, photos and reference points – from lighthouses and hot-air balloons to Jules Verne, Gustave Doré and Hergé – form part of a meandering trail.

No doubt, there's plenty to learn from the history of the time somebody as awful as Franco was in power. But unfortunately, totalitarianism isn't a thing of the past, and the way Spain's governments enabled Islam to take hold there again should make clear something's still wrong. Though surprisingly enough, this exhibition does include the art of Marjane Satrapi:

Questions about how memory shapes us recur in the section that examines recollection and identity. As well as looking at how age and disease “can wipe both our memories and our identities”, it features Marjane Satrapi, whose Woman, Life, Freedom – a collective work by 17 Iranian and international comic book artists, including Roca – showed how women have defended their identities amid the repression of the Iranian regime.

Well that's great she's brought up here. But regrettably, Mr. Roca himself is quite a leftist, as the following makes clear:

Roca is well aware that sections of the Spanish right are unhappy with the notion of a year of celebrations to mark the end of the dictator. He also knows that some have accused Spain’s socialist-led government – whose democratic memory ministry has organised the exhibition in partnership with the Instituto Cervantes – of playing politics with the past.

But then political polarisation, he added, was hardly a problem unique to Spain.

“In Germany, you have parties that are questioning things that everyone had thought had been settled and you have these nationalist movements erupting in Europe and the US and you have [Javier] Milei attacking historical memory in Argentina,” said Roca. “It’s a bad time for society, but it allows authors to reflect on this and to find stories that had been consigned to oblivion.”

For heaven's sake, this guy sure does love pandering to what a left-wing paper like the Guardian wants to hear. To the point where he effectively obscures that Milei's made Argentina a much safer country in the time he's been president, and he's even been respectable to Israel. I guess that means nothing to Roca? Funny how somebody who seemingly is aware of the dangers of Islamofascism as represented by Iran ends up pandering to what leftists want to hear. Then again, this was the same paper to whom Frank Miller made defeatist statements several years ago, right down to a negative comment about Donald Trump. If Miller considers himself pro-Israel, then it's bizarre he wants to associate with the Guardian's writers at all, based on their leanings.

Now to be fair, it's possible the Guardian's writer took Roca's statements out of context and warped them to the paper's favor, but if what he said is accurately conveyed, then he's really disappointed, and one can only wonder if he really cares about issues like Islamic terrorism. If he doesn't actually have what it takes to speak out against such problems, he'll only render his cartoons about Franco's reign a joke.

Labels: Europe and Asia, exhibitions, history, islam and jihad, misogyny and racism, moonbat artists, msm propaganda, politics, terrorism